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General Hospital's James Patrick Stuart Admits He Identifies with "Val" Cassadine
General Hospital's James Patrick Stuart (Valentin Cassadine) can't help but identify with his villainous character. He opened up to Soaps in Depth about feeling like he really is a wannabe Cassadine.
Stuart shared:
The first thing that happens is you get sad, because you think, ‘Oh wait, I like Cynthia Watros (Nina), I like Val’s money, I like my character!’ And when Jax showed up, I felt myself bristle. We spend so much time acting as these characters, they become part of our psyches. So if something bad happens to Valentin, there’s that moment where I have to shake it off. ‘That’s right. That’s not who I am!’ And then I go, ‘Wow, what great drama!’
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He does his best to get into the bad seed's head, he noted:
What I enjoy is trying to find the vulnerability in him. I’ve played a lot of bad guys, and early on, you scowl and you posture. But Val’s level of aggression and pathos comes from protecting something. What I try to tap into is that humanity. What damaged part of him is he trying to protect? So while everybody’s throwing stones at him, if I’ve done that, I feel pretty good about the day’s work.
Will we see a possible Valentin vs. Michael (Chad Duell) battle? Michael has a kid with Nelle (Chloe Lanier), AKA the possible long-lost daughter of Valentin's long-suffering ex Nina. Stuart quipped that EP Frank Valentini might not want this battle:
The problem is we are the two biggest wiseasses on the show. We have a very hard time looking in each other’s eyes without cracking up. Frank may rue the day he put us together!
